Aircraft towing vehicles are known in the art, including towing vehicles for small aircraft. Typical small aircraft towing vehicles are inconvenient and cumbersome to use, as they frequently require attachment to an aircraft wheel axle, attachment to another vehicle using a tow bar, or they must be personally pulled by a handle after connection to an aircraft, limiting the weight that may be towed by a single user.
Motorized aircraft towing vehicles have been developed in the art to move small aircraft which may be too heavy to move personally. These vehicles avoid the need for attaching to a separately powered vehicle, and comprise a motorized apparatus typically having a handle with an actuator, similar to a motorized pallet jack for activating the motor and steering the vehicle. Currently available motorized apparatus are also disfavored since they frequently require a detailed attachment mechanism, and in and event, require a user to stand alongside and move in tandem with the vehicle, which may be inconvenient.
Based on the current need in the art for an aircraft towing vehicle that avoids the problems associated with previously developed towing vehicles, it is an object of the present invention to provide an aircraft towing vehicle which is able to move under, lock and capture the nose wheel of an aircraft, which is able to move independently by remote control, and which is also able to automatically release the aircraft wheel after moving to a desired location. These and other objects are discussed in the following summary, description and claims.